Welcome to Trouble Free Pool

We would like to welcome you to TFP, the webs leading Pool related website. We invite you to please Register to create a new account. Doing this will give you full access to the forums, where you will be able to receive personalized advice concerning your pool. We hope to see you soon!

Need some advice on pool maintenance...

Hello folks,

I need some advice regarding the maintenance of my pool. After several backwashes, I was able to get the pool clean of any visible algae. Last Saturday, I took a water sample down to my local pool store from where I purchased my 21 foot pool. I use a Big Dipper ozone machine. Here were the results:

Alcalinity: 40 ppm
pH: 7.4
Stabilizer (CYA): 50
Chlorine: 0 ppm

I started learning about caring for my pool by reading several threads on this forum. I purchased liquid pool chlorine and poured roughly 2.4 litres into the pool. Also added about 5 kgs of Alca+ to bring up the alkalinity of the water. This was last Saturday.

Today, I added 2.4 litres of liquid chlorine to the pool since I was seeing some traces of algae. I had the water tested tonight and here are the numbers:

Alcalinity: 100 ppm
pH: 8.0
Stabilizer (CYA): 0
Chlorine: 0 ppm

How is it that the CYA and Chlorine (FC) is at 0??

The girl at the counter recommended that I add 800 grams of pH- to lower the pH and that I should shock the pool one a week with 750 grams of chlorine since I'm using the ozone machine and 1 puck per week.

Re: Need some advice on pool maintenance...

Welcome to TFP!

Those two sets of CYA test results can't both be right, one or both of them must be wildly wrong. CYA doesn't go down like that. I am more inclined to believe that CYA is near zero, since you are losing chlorine so quickly, but there are other possibilities. By far the best thing you can do is to get your own top quality test kit. That will be much more reliable than what the pool store can do and no need to go to the store.

It also looks like you overdid it a little on the alkalinity increaser. I recommend lowering PH to around 7.2.

By the by, ozone doesn't do much to improve the water quality, and it consumes chlorine.

Re: Need some advice on pool maintenance...

Thanks for your help. I feel like a real idiot. When they sold me the pool, the sales guy was saying that more and more pools were being switched over to ozone. Either he didn't know himself or he was simply lying that ozone is not so great for home pools.

First thing that I did this morning was to disconnect the power to the ozone machine. At least it won't consume the chlorine. I shocked the pool last night and will try to bring another sample to the store until I get my own testing unit.

As far as the alkalinity increaser, it was under the store's recommendation as to how much I should add.

I plan to use liquid chlorine in the future to treat the water. Should I use that in conjunction with a chlorine puck?

After some reading in Pool School you will have to understand that shocking a pool is a process and not just a one time event or action.

You will find out that we all here have our own test kits to rid of other influences, like a pool store for testing.

The advice here is the best.
Read this in Pool School about test kits:pool-school/pool_test_kit_comparison
The TF-100 kits are the best value, (this is the kit I have) but unsure of where your located?
If you reside outside of the U.S. you might have to find where to get the Taylor K-2006 kit.
tftestkits.net cannot ship outside the U.S. unfortunately.

I now have a 21' round that I did install this year, with a 6' deep center by using a 72" expandable liner.
I started 2 years ago with a 15' Intex and was just a total nightmare with the pool store every week, buy this, buy that, ok your also good now on this, but you need this....never really had a clear perfect water all year.
Last year I decided to learn pool water chemistry and landed here at TFP.
After the some reading here I decided to learn to do it myself with the methods used here, Oh man that was the best thing I ever did!
I got lots of help here, and my pool did exactly what it was told to do and I had a beautiful year with a perfect pool, so good I got a bigger one for this year!

I was scared to death in the beginning, but with practice and all the smart people here to help, it has became very simple now!

I'm very grateful and happy what Trouble Free Pool has done in my life.
I have and will support TFP whenever I can to give back, like yourself.
Chuck

Swim n Play 21' round, expandable 72" liner, 6FT deep center, buried 14", 12,750 Gallons
Waterway 1HP-2 speed with 22" Sand filterTF-100 test kitThanks to TFP my pool is perfect all the time :party:
I now suffer from Sparklypoolitis! :whoot:
I am a Platinum contributor because I want everyone who comes here to Trouble Free Pool to have the same success that I enjoy with my pool and family.

Re: Need some advice on pool maintenance...

Hello Chuck,

Thank you for the kind reply. This place is amazng, so much good information. Since I live in Canada, I do not have access to the TF-100 analysis kit. However, I'll be in Miami, FL in a week for vacation with the family and I will have it shipped to the condo where I'll be staying.

I went to another local pool store to have my water analyzed and I noticed that the used Taylor products, but did not sell it. Weird. In any case, the analysis was much more in-depth compared to the other pool store. The guy testing the water said that everything was perfect.

At the same time, I purchased a solar cover for the pool and it really seems to work. Typically, the temperature of my pool drops to 78 degrees F. However, this morning when I removed the cover, the pool temperature was just shy of 82 degrees F!!! Wow!! Wife and kids are happy!

Re: Need some advice on pool maintenance...

Your welcome!
If that's the case, coming to Fl, it would be best if you can afford the XL option with your TF-100, this will give you some extra FAS powder/drop reagent to be able to test the FC/CC more often and will last you awhile unless you come down often.
The speed stir is nice too and not too costly for a home one.
I didn't buy one for the first year here, but got one this year when I got up the new bigger 21' pool. The surprise for me was It has a light in it too! That put it over the top for me now I have one...

Chuck

Swim n Play 21' round, expandable 72" liner, 6FT deep center, buried 14", 12,750 Gallons
Waterway 1HP-2 speed with 22" Sand filterTF-100 test kitThanks to TFP my pool is perfect all the time :party:
I now suffer from Sparklypoolitis! :whoot:
I am a Platinum contributor because I want everyone who comes here to Trouble Free Pool to have the same success that I enjoy with my pool and family.